More councils to take CouncilMARK™ opportunity in programme’s second year

23 November 2017

Following a successful first year of the CouncilMARK™ local government excellence programme further councils have already signed up to begin the process.

Following a successful first year of the CouncilMARK™ local government excellence programme further councils have already signed up to begin the process.

The inaugural CouncilMARK™ year had 18 Foundations Councils sign up, with 15 reports released so far. Greater Wellington Regional Council, Wairoa District Council and Upper Hutt City Council in the process of completing the programme.

Councils signed up to the programme in 2018 are Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Dunedin City Council, Hauraki District Council, Mackenzie District Council, Manawatu District Council, Tararua District Council and Taupo District Council.

A number of other councils have indicated their intention to participate pending full council support.

LGNZ president Dave Cull says CouncilMARK™ is an important component towards an ongoing goal of lifting the perceptions and performance of local government.

“The CouncilMARK™ process has proved to be a valuable tool, with a number of councils reporting they are using the findings to help them make improvements and to provide a benchmark for their current level of performance. It is great to see more councils getting on board and I urge other councils to consider when they join the programme,” Mr Cull says.

“CouncilMARK™ provides incredibly valuable information that can help councils with how they operate, what they’re getting right and areas for improvement. And it gives communities the same information, allowing them an independent view of the work their local councils are doing.

“As a sector we understand we need to constantly show and grow our performance, and CouncilMARK™ offers an excellent opportunity to work towards that. I congratulate all those councils to have already completed the programme and those about to embark on the journey.”

There is capacity for more councils to participate in CouncilMARK™ and LGNZ will be making further calls for expressions of interest in 2018.